Changing 250,000 Children's Lives....and Counting

At a time when people often feel helpless in a world where they want to make a difference, Children Incorporated is now teaming up with an old friend to launch a new effort intended to bring thousands of new donors into the fold – to empower people to do something that actually changes the world for the better.

Twenty years ago, Dr. Richard Carlson’s best-selling book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff forged a legacy that is carried on by Dr. Carlson’s widow, Kristine, selling 25 million copies and magnifying the global movement towards mindfulness and self-care. It was the book’s mention of Children Incorporated as the Carlsons’ preferred charity that was, in the words of current Director of Development Shelley Callahan, “one of the most meaningful things to happen to our organization.” This year, in conjunction with the book’s 20th anniversary re-publication, Kristine Carlson and Children’s Incorporated I have teamed up to find 2000 new donors, with a generous donation from the Richard Carlson Memorial Foundation supporting matching funds. Since sponsorships are the lifeblood of Children Incorporated’s work, the infusion of so many new benefactors is likely to have a profound and lasting impact.

This latest effort is just one of many in support of Children Incorporated’s global mission to confront childhood poverty through direct intervention:getting the donated money, goods, and services directly to the children and families who need them most.Reaching over 250,000 children in 23 countries over the last few decades, Children Incorporated currently supports over 300 programs and projects, from building schools in Bolivia, to clean water initiatives in India, to inner-city projects in Detroit and Washington DC, to “backpack feeding” Appalachian kids who might not otherwise have anything to eat on the weekends.With digital media efforts like the “On the Road” web series that documents Children Incorporated’s monumental efforts, the organization is continuing to lead the way in terms of global awareness of poverty and finding innovative and impactful solutions that benefit the most impoverished communities of the world, one deserving child at a time.

For over 50 years, Children Incorporated has been a pioneer in the field of international charity, connecting individual donors to specific children in need both in the United States and around the world.The story of Children Incorporated, from humble beginnings of a determined American traveler connecting her wealthy friends with Guatamalan orphans, to one of the most respected and productive charities around, is one that is worthy of attention and discussion, and a way of bringing power and possibility to life in a too-often uncertain and disheartening world.